Closed petition Make it a specific criminal offence to leave a child under 4 years old alone

Closed on 27 July 2022

It’s an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk, but it is not a specific offence to leave children of particular ages on their own.

The NSPCC recommends infants and young children aged 0-3 years old should never be left alone. We believe doing so should be a criminal offence.

According to the NSPCC “[i]nfants and young children aged 0-3 years old should never be left alone even for 15 minutes while you pop down the road. This applies to not just to leaving them home alone but also in your car while you run into the shops” (NSPCC, 2022), yet unless this is treated as neglect or putting the child is at risk it is not a prosecutable act. Therefore, the law is not in line with guidance and the legislation should be amended.